SCHOOL SAFETY
Policy Code:
1510/4200/7270
Safe schools are critical to creating a learning environment in which students can succeed. Staff
and students share the responsibility for taking reasonable precautions and following established
safety measures to create and maintain safe schools. The following safety measures must be
implemented at each school.
A.
SUPERVISION OF STUDENTS
Students must be reasonably supervised while in the care and custody of the school
system. This supervision must occur throughout school hours, including during class,
between classes, on the playground, and during recess or lunch periods; during authorized
school field trips; and on school buses. Reasonable precautions should be taken to
protect the safety of students on school grounds and on buses before, during and after
school.
Students who are subject to policy 4260, Student Sex Offenders, and are receiving
educational services on school property must be supervised by school personnel at all
times.
B.
SUPERVISION OF VISITORS
School administrators shall strictly enforce policies 5015, School Volunteers, and 5020,
Visitors to the Schools.
C.
SAFETY OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS
The superintendent and each building principal shall comply with all duties set out for
their respective positions in G.S. 115C-288(d) and G.S. 115C-525 to minimize fire
hazards. The principal is required to inspect school buildings, playgrounds, and
equipment for health, fire, and safety hazards on a regular basis, as required by law, and
to notify the superintendent immediately of unsanitary conditions or repairs needed to
meet safety standards.
Any employee who observes any potential hazards must notify the principal or the
employee’s supervisor immediately.
All warning systems must meet building and equipment codes required by law and must
be properly maintained. When necessary, proper signs indicating potential hazards or
recommended safety precautions must be posted.
D.
ESTABLISHING PROCESSES
EMERGENCIES
1.
TO
ADDRESS POTENTIAL SAFETY CONCERNS
AND
Responding to Student Altercations and Other Threats to Safety
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Policy Code:
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All school system employees have a duty to be alert at all times to situations that
may pose a threat to the safety of students, employees, or visitors on school
property, at school events, or in other situations in which the students are under
the authority of school employees. Even an employee who does not have
responsibility for supervising students is expected to make an immediate report if
the employee observes or has reason to suspect that a situation poses a threat to
safety and no administrator, teacher, or other supervisory employee is present and
aware of the potential threat.
Teachers, teacher assistants, coaches, and other employees with responsibility for
supervising students will use appropriate student behavior management
techniques to maintain order and discipline on school property, at school events,
and anywhere that students are under the employees’ authority. Such employees
must enforce the Code of Student Conduct and address student behavior in
accordance with the school plan for management of student behavior (see policy
4302, School Plan for Management of Student Behavior).
When employees with responsibility for supervising students have personal
knowledge or actual notice of a student altercation or other situation that poses an
immediate threat to safety, they shall use their professional judgement to
determine how best to address the situation to protect the safety of everyone in the
vicinity. Emergency procedures identified in a student’s Behavior Intervention
Plan shall be followed to the maximum extent possible under the circumstances.
For minor threats or altercations or altercations involving young children, the
employee shall intervene directly to end the fight or address the safety threat if the
employee can do so safely. An employee who encounters a situation that cannot
be managed safely and effectively by that employee immediately shall request
assistance from other employees or administrative staff and shall take steps to
remove bystanders from the area. Only the degree of force or physical control
reasonably necessary shall be used to re-establish a safe environment.
Employees should take further action as appropriate in accordance with any
response protocols established by the principal or superintendent. All employees
are responsible for knowing and following such protocols to the fullest extent
reasonable under the circumstances at the time.
2.
School Rules
The principal or designee shall develop rules to help prevent accidents in school
buildings, on school buses, and on school grounds.
3.
Training for Staff and Students
Staff training must include detailed instruction on how to respond to a variety of
emergency situations. In addition, staff should be able to recognize and respond
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Policy Code:
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to behavior, information, and related indicators that warn of impending problems.
School personnel must teach and review with students (1) safety procedures,
including fire safety procedures; (2) precautions for handling chemicals or
potentially dangerous equipment; and (3) appropriate responses to threats to
school safety.
4.
Safety Equipment
School employees shall provide students with safety equipment as required by
law and shall enforce school rules pertaining to wearing safety equipment.
School employees shall wear and use appropriate safety equipment as required for
the safe performance of their specific job assignments.
5.
Planning for Emergencies and Conducting Fire Drills and Other Emergency Drills
The superintendent shall develop system-wide plans and procedures to address
emergency situations. The superintendent must provide the Department of Public
Safety’s Division of Emergency Management (Division) with emergency
response information it requests for the School Risk Management Plan and the
School Emergency Response Plan. The superintendent must also provide the
Division and local law enforcement with schematic diagrams, including digital
schematic diagrams, of all school facilities and updates of the schematic diagrams
when the school system makes substantial facility modifications, such as the
addition of new facilities or modifications to doors or windows. Schematic
diagrams must meet any standards established by the Department of Public
Instruction for the preparation and content of the diagrams. In addition, the
superintendent shall provide local law enforcement with emergency access to key
storage devices for all school buildings and with updated access to school
building key storage devices when changes are made to the devices.
As appropriate, the superintendent shall consult with local law enforcement
agencies and emergency responders to plan for and conduct emergency drills.
Principals, with the assistance of both law enforcement and emergency responders
as appropriate, shall conduct fire drills as required by law and shall conduct other
emergency drills in accordance with school system emergency plans and
procedures.
6.
Reporting Suspicious Behavior
Students should notify any staff member of any acts of violence, harassment, or
bullying or any other unusual or suspicious behavior that may endanger safety.
Ongoing student education efforts will aim at minimizing any fear, peer pressure,
embarrassment, or other impediments to students reporting potential problems.
Maintaining a safe school environment that is conducive to learning requires staff
to be proactive in dealing with violence, harassment, and bullying. Staff members
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Policy Code:
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must report immediately to the principal any information regarding unusual or
suspicious behavior or acts of violence, harassment, or bullying.
Every principal is required to investigate and act upon any report of such
behavior, including, when appropriate, reporting criminal activities to law
enforcement, the State Board, and the superintendent or designee (see policies
1710/4021/7230, Prohibition Against Discrimination, Harassment, and Bullying,
1720/4015/7225, Discrimination, Harassment, and Bullying Complaint Procedure,
and 4335, Criminal Behavior).
7.
Potential Threats of Registered Sex Offenders
The principal of each school shall register with the North Carolina Sex Offender
and Public Protection Registry to receive e-mail notification when a registered sex
offender moves within a one-mile radius of the school.
8.
Student Behavior Standards
Students are expected to meet behavior standards set forth in board policies.
Legal References: G.S. 14-208.18; 115C-36, -47, -81.4, -105.49, -105.53, -105.54, -166, -288, 289.1, -307, -390.3, -391.1, -521, -524, -525; State Board of Education Policies HRS-A-000,
TCS-P-005
Cross References: Prohibition Against Discrimination, Harassment, and Bullying (policy
1710/4021/7230), Discrimination, Harassment, and Bullying Complaint Procedure (policy
1720/4015/7225), School Improvement Plan (policy 3430), Student Sex Offenders (policy 4260),
Student Behavior policies (4300 series), School Volunteers (policy 5015), Visitors to the Schools
(policy 5020), Registered Sex Offenders (policy 5022), Weapons and Explosives Prohibited
(policy 5027/7275), Public Records – Retention, Release, and Disposition (policy 5070/7350),
Relationship with Law Enforcement (policy 5120), Occupational Exposure to Hazardous
Chemicals in Science Laboratories (policy 7265), Staff Responsibilities (policy 7300), Security
of Facilities (policy 9220)
Other Resources: N.C. Center for Safer Schools 2013 Report to the Governor, available at
https://www.ncdps.gov/div/JJ/CenterForSaferSchoolsReport2013-web(1).pdf;
Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Schools and Communities, U.S.
Department of Education Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (January 2007), available at
http://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/crisisplanning.html; Keeping North Carolina Schools
Safe and Secure, A Report to Governor Mike Easley from Attorney General Roy Cooper and
Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety Bryan Beatty (November 2006), available at
http://www.ncdoj.gov/getdoc/2158e7b1-bd55-4cal-bdf4-80260f766926/Keeping-NorthCarolina-Schools-Safe---Secure.aspx
Adopted: April 19, 2010
Revised: November 1, 2011; February 18, 2013; October 21, 2013, November 24, 2014
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Policy Code:
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1510/4200/7270
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